Loki: A Hero from the Darkness
by WayWardWonderer
Summary: Just a quickly written down theory that I have about Loki. Think of it what you will, I stand by it!


Call it wishful thinking, call it bias, call it whatever you like but I believe Loki is in fact a hero and not a villain. As least not a _traditional_ villain. I believe he is now walking a path of redemption and is well on his way to becoming a hero or 'anti-hero'. Allow me to explain...

-In the first Thor film, Loki starts out with good intentions. He knows how unprepared, reckless and bloodthirsty Thor has become and would surely lead Asgard into needless wars for years. Rather than stand idle and watch as a unwise, oblivious brute take the throne, Loki chose to interrupt Thor's coronation. The goal was to delay Thor's reign and pray that Odin would finally see how premature it was to allow Thor to rule. However it didn't go quite as planned as Odin dismissed Thor's outburst of war proclamation as merely misplaced loyalty and enthusiasm.

Later when Thor was throwing a classis 'hissy fit' by tossing tables and pouting, Loki tried to speak reasonably with Thor. Perhaps, Loki knew that Thor would still attempt war with Jotunheim and was being a loyal brother by accompanying Thor on such a short-sighted quest; or Loki wanted to rile Thor up so he would specifically attack Jotunheim and Odin would no longer be able to deny Thor's poor judgement. Either way, Loki remained at Thor's side and continued to try to be the voice of reason when Thor confronted Laufey.

After Odin banished Thor, (which may not have been Loki's plan), Loki discovered the truth of his origins. He discovered that Odin had lied to him his entire life and felt as if he was nothing more than a relic, a possession stolen by Laufey as a final insult by Odin. Before Loki could fully confront Odin and understand the reason he was taken, Odin fell into the 'Odinsleep'. With unresolved emotional and mental damage and suddenly having the 'burden of the throne' thrust upon him, Loki focused his anger and hatred onto Thor.

During Thor's banishment, Thor gained humility and an appreciation for his power. Only when he was ready to lay down is life for the safety of new friends and allies, was Thor truly worthy of his power and reclaimed his hammer. Afterward Thor confronted Loki on Asgard, after Loki had killed tricked Laufey into 'assassinating' Odin only to be stabbed killed by Loki himself. During the final confrontation Thor and Loki pushed themselves to their limits, Thor sacrificing his ability to return to Jane Foster and Loki fleeing Asgard in defeat.

These events were sent in motion only through Loki's actions. Had Loki not been concerned with the future well-fair of Asgard, then Thor would've never become the great warrior he is now.

Moving on...

-As of The Avengers, after drifting aimlessly in an abyss Loki was found by "The Other" and the Chitauri army. He was sent to Earth to retrieve the Tesseract for 'The Other', Chitauri and apparently (spoiler!) Thanos. Loki then lead the invasion against Earth only to be confronted and eventually defeated by The Avengers.

But... At the very END of Thor, Loki's reflection is seen when Dr. Selvig is offered the chance to look at the Tesseract. And it looks like Loki ha sustained sometime of injury to his head. He wasn't injured during his final fight with Thor on the Rainbow Bridge, were did the wound come from? The Chitauri? The 'Other'? Or perhaps Thanos himself.

Think about it: Loki killed Agent Phil Coulson, the one common denominator among all six members of The Avengers. Only after this deed were the six heroes able to be brought together and form a working team. It seems just a _little_ too convenient that Loki happened to kill the one guy that everyone happened to befriend to some degree. Before killing Coulson, Loki had some one on one time with HawkEye. If HawkEye was so warped that he would betray Agent Romanoff by telling Loki every dirty little secret she had ever confided, then surely HawkEye would've mentioned how Agent Coulson was essentially the peace maker and that each hero had respected Coulson as well. Why kill the one man they would ban together just to avenge? Hmmm...

Also, when Thor confronted Loki for the last time at Stark Tower... it's just easier to quote the dialogue:

*"_Look at this! Look around you!" - Thor_

Loki looks around with wide eyes of despair.

_"You think this madness will end with your rule_?" -Thor

"_It's too late_. _It's too late to stop it_..." - Loki

"_No. We can. Together_." - Thor

Loki smiles then stabs Thor with a stiletto hidden up his sleeve. Thor gasps and clutches his abdomen in pain.

"_Sentiment_." - Loki

Thor kicks Loki, then picks him up and slams Loki on the ground. Loki rolls away on lands on an alien space cruiser thingy.*

Right there! "It's too late". Loki was aware that the damage was catastrophic and a part of him wanted it to end. But even if he did choose to fight alongside Thor, would the other Avengers trust him? Or would they kill him and claim it was an 'accident'? He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Or more specifically a thunder wielding demi-God with a big hammer and an alien race threatening to murder to face.

Remember that part? Loki had a telepathic conference with 'The Other', and was told that if he failed Thanos would find him, torture him and eventually kill him in a slow, undignified manner. Simply put, Loki chose the lesser of two evils: Attacking Earth and MAYBE getting killed in the process, or defy Thanos and DEFINATELY be killed. Choices, choices...

I'd also like to point out that when Loki first arrives on Earth, using the Tesseract as a doorway, his eyes are blue. Why is this significant? Loki's eyes are naturally green. The only time a character's eyes changed color from their natural hue to blue, is when they were being mentally controlled and being forced to do the Chitauri's bidding. Look at HawkEye and Dr. Selvig. Hmmm... (thanks for the reminder OkieDokeyLoki)

And this is a little interesting... Selvig constructed a type of killswitch in the Tesseract's portal that could only be stopped by Loki's scepter. If he had enough of his own free will left to do such a thing WITHOUT Loki knowing, I highly doubt that Loki remained unaware of his own actions. And why that scepter? Why not put a great big red 'off' button (that should never pushed), right next to the 'on' switch? AND... During the fight with Thor, Loki simply LEFT HIS SCEPTER behind. It's like he and Selvig had anticipated The Avengers interfering and for Thor to successfully best Loki in direct hand-to-hand combat...

Also, when Thor took Loki from the jet to have a one-on-one, only to be attacked by Iron Man and forced into combat, Loki had plenty of time to run away. But he didn't. He just sat on the cliff side and watched the show. He didn't run because he wanted to stay close to his brother.

I'd also like to point out that not once during this story did Loki utilize his shape-shifting abilities. If you were trying to hide from literally everyone in the world, wouldn't you disguise yourself as someone inconspicuous, and then continue to alter your disguise to keep any interested party's off your back? And yet... Loki remained as himself throughout the entire film. Wouldn't it have been more effective to change his appearance into a generic S.H.I.E.L.D. agent? Or disappear into the crowd in Germany? Or change his appearance after Hulk smashed him, and blend in with the other victims of the attack in New York? Yeah... Think about that...

And... When Loki was brought on board the hellicarrier, he pretty much walked the cliché villain route and told everyone his evil plan. Loki is not a cliché character. "A warm light for all mankind". Banner caught onto the hint that Loki was going to have the final showdown at Stark Tower. Why would the God of Mischief, MAgic, Deception and Lies flat out tell the truth about his plans? He wanted Thor to succeed...

Finally...

-While serving his sentence of indefinite imprisonment in _Thor: The Dark World_, Thor and Loki's Mother, Frigga, was murdered by Malekith's loyal minion, the Kursed. (Please take a moment to read that sentence at least twice before moving on) When Loki is told what had happened to his Mother, by an anonymous guard of all people, he is clearly distraught. He pretty much uses the force to rearrange his cell! Remember, it was because of his Mother that Odin did not exucte Loki, but let him live out his life in a cell. His Mother then gave Loki some homey comforts to try and ease his pain, while using her magic to visit him. (Apparently Odin is a very harsh bastard) When Thor arrived at Loki's cell and offered him the chance to seek vengeance against Malekith and the Kursed, Loki accepted and did NOT betray him because even Thor knew that Loki and their Mother shared a close bond. The closeness of that bond is evident when Loki admits that even though he does not see Odin as his Father, he does see Frigga as his Mother and he then tries to hold her hands before her illusion was broken. Loki still has a heart and is capable of love.

Now, during the elaborate mission to defeat Malekith, the Kursed an remove the Aether before it killed Jane Foster; Loki had an ideal opportunity to kill Thor and simply leave and use his power of illusion to escape Asgardian justice. Yet he didn't. He followed the plan down to every detail, even the part where Thor trusted Loki to shield Jane from the lightning with is own body. But when the plan failed they needed to fight as a team. During the fight Loki managed to save Jane from a grenade attack, almost getting caught in the blast himself. Shortly thereafter, Loki saved Thor from the Kursed by using the Kursed's own grenade against him. Unfortunately he stabbed the Kursed through the back in order to distract it and the Kursed decided to stab Loki right back! - Unintentional self-sacrifice, right there.

While he was laying on the ground, dying, he apologized to Thor and asked for forgiveness. Again, he has a heart. If he was truly evil he would've never apologized and he would've allowed Jane to die, allowed Thor to die and would not have reacted when his Mother was killed. Also, a true psychopath feels no emotional or moral consequences for their actions.

After Thor leaves Loki's body on the Dark World, Loki miraculously revives and takes on the disguise of an anonymous Asgardian guard. (say that three times fast!) He then bravely returns to the throne room where his ludicrously strict Father was awaiting news on Thor, Loki and the _treason_ they had committed by leaving Asgard in the first place. Still in disguise, Loki says...

*"_Forgive me, my liege. I've returned from the Dark World with news_." - Loki

"_Thor_?" - Odin

"_There was no sign of Thor, of the weapon, but_..." - Loki

"_What_?" - Odin

"_We found a body_." - Loki

"_Loki_." - Odin*

Despite everything Odin seemed genuinely surprised to hear of Loki's fate. Yet at the end of the film (spoilers) Thor address Odin one last time before returning to Earth to live. Thor leaves after their seeming heart-felt discussion and Odin turns out to be Loki in disguise.

Which brings me to my point...

One could argue that despite Heimdall ALWAYS watching, Loki managed to kill Odin, hide his body and take his place without ever being caught.

But I prefer to think that Odin, being the stubborn old man that he is, refused to speak with Thor. I mean, Thor disobeyed and committed treason, that deserves the silent treatment above anything else! So Loki, desiring some closure with his Brother, took on Odin's form so he could speak to him one last time. And of course realize the truth that Thor really did love him after he said all the nice things about Loki!

In my mind, as a hopeful nerd, Loki had decided to honor his Mother's memory by choosing to look after the family that had taken him in and raised him as one of their own. Though he'll have to do so in secret. No one tries to lock up a dead man, right? Since he's already believed dead, all he has to do in remain in disguise for the rest of his life... Or until someone like Thor is able to trust him again and convince others to do so.

You might be asking yourself "Why I would want to see such a great villain become just another hero?" Simple. Loki would be an invaluable ally and would keep the other heroes on their toes. Besides, Loki isn't exactly the quintessential villain: He's empathetic, has genuine problems created by other people and he still cared enough to avenge the murder of his mother. He's not a psychopath, he's a high functioning sociopath.(SherLOCKED) Honestly, who wouldn't want to see Loki and Iron Man team up to take down a giant robot? (I know you raised your hand!) Or even better, witness the awkward moment where Loki and Agent Coulson are the only two occupants in an elevator and try to make small talk? Yeah...

Thanks for reading!

**Note: I wrote this because I wanted to! And because as a nerd I hope that somewhere one of the creative geniuses at Marvel will hear how much Loki is loved and maybe keep him around a little while longer. **

**I don't want to debate. I don't want to argue. And I don't want to be told my THEORY / OPINION is wrong, just because you might have read more of the comics' series' than I have, or delved more into Norse Mythology. M'kay? If the potential reviews for this become too chaotic and argumentative, I will delete this with a heavy heart.**


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